Knives, Knuckles, and Kittens
by LissyGoode
Summary: A collection of Damlin one-shots. Includes Rule 63 and other AUs! Requests accepted!
1. Morning Activities

Damian woke to something soft pressed against his shoulder, fingers made designs as they trailed down his back. It wasn't often Damian woke up last, but he figured his body finally needed the sleep. After two weeks of patrols and PR, with only an hour or so in between, it would make since last night's _vigorous_ activity sent him over the edge.

Damian made a sound deep in his throat as the hand reached his lower back, then started to trail around his waist. The debate for control didn't take long for Damian's darker side to win; he flipped over and pinned the redhead to the mattress, his long dark hair making a cage around their faces. Hazel eyes looked up at him in shock, then amusement.

"Well, good morning Red Knight," the redhead mused in a husky voice, hips moving slightly against Damian's.

The man closed his eyes in a soft moan. The thought that he should take off his mask passed by fleetingly, but the look in those eyes had shot it down quickly enough. "God," Damian moaned, grinding his hips, "are you always this horny in the morning?"

"Just when I'm in bed with you," the redhead said it in a way that Damian wondered if there might have been _others_ in bed, looking into those hazel eyes, feeling those sexy lips on every inch of _their_ body.

Years ago Damian would have threatened to kill anyone who even _thought_ about his redhead that way, but he was a grown man now. At twenty-five, he could control those born and bred tendencies. He leaned down, kissing the redhead on the throat. He nipped and sucked, licking until the skin was a deep red. Damian's mark.

"I have school today," the redhead moaned. "What are the other staff going to think?"

"That you had a crazy night," the man said, "and a wild morning."

Hands grabbed Damian's hips, moving them closer as unintelligible sounds fell from the redhead's lips. Finally a word came, "Late. I'm going to be late."

With a sigh, Damian pulled away and flipped onto his back. "Fine. Go save some kid's life. Or at least stop him from being in one of the gangs we'll have to clean up."

The redhead gave him a peck on the lips, whispering a soft "I love you" before running off to shower.

Damian waited until he could hear the water running before he responded, "I love you to, Colin."

**A/N In this world Damian is the visuality known as the Red Knight (you can imagine it a mix between Batman and Nightwing's costumes) and Colin is a school councilor. They don't live together, and they have a bit of an open relationship (though they never see anyone else).**


	2. Humbug?

**December 24, 1883.**

Damian watched the dancers from the balcony. He had never been a party person, though for the last six years attending a party was a weekly acutance. This party, however, was the worst of the year: his father's Christmas Eve Ball. The guests were only socialites or cops, and the young man found them all quite boring.

From his perch, Daman could see the entirety of the room. One of his brothers, Tim, was dancing gracefully with a blonde in a purple dress, the doctor's daughter, Stephanie. She and Tim had been courting for the past several months. His other brother, Dick, and his wife Barbara were joking and laughing as he pushed her chair through the crowd. People parted for them, a few risking glances at the woman's legs (which were carefully covered by the skirt of her gold and blue dress.

All of this was normal, though, and Damian's eyes were searching for something—some_one_—who didn't belong. He could feel the shift in his heartbeat as he spotted the faded brown apple cap, a crop of orange hair sticking out the rim. Damian's heart picked up faster as he watched it move towards the front door. That wasn't right. His eyes moved a little higher and caught the police cap escorting him. Without thinking, the young man started a quick decent down the stairs.

At the base of the staircase he was stopped by the butler holding a silver tray of candies, "Humbug, Master Damian?"

"Later, Pennyworth," the young man told him, pushing past. He was able to reach the door just as the other two did, "Holt." Damian commanded was harch, stopping the officer in his tracks. "Explain."

"I caught this thief sneaking bread rolls into his pocket," The officer said, then quickly added, "Sir." It was still a little unusual for grown men to be referring to a young man as an authority. "I was just throwing him out."

"I see," Damian said coldly, "and did you ask how he got in?"

The cop held up a crumpled invitation, "Must'a picked a pocket, sir. Had the nerve ta say he was your guest."

"And so," the young man's voice came out calmly, though his fists were clenched, "instead of seeking evidence, or asking me personally, you chose to take actions into your own hands."

"Sir—" the officer was cut off with a glare.

"This man, in fact, my guest," Damian stated, "and you should do best to remember his face."

"I know his face, sir," the cop informed. "He's a street rat. An orphan. Not the type of company—"

"I think I have the capability of deciding for myself who I wish as company."

"Sir—"

Damian's temper was almost as his breaking point. He hated when people looked at his friend like scum. Like he wasn't good enough to breath the same hair as them. All three of his brothers had been orphans before his father had taken them in. Just be cause they had been a little luckier… "Kindly unhand my friend and be on your way."

"Yes, sir," the cop finally said before releasing the boy and slipping back into the party.

"Colin," Damian said, his voice still a little stiff, "let's get you cleaned up."

"I wa'n't tak'n' nothin'," Colin finally spoke, following Damian through the crowd and up the stairs. "Jus' hun'ry. Ev'ry'ne else ge's'ta eat."

Damian lead them down the hallway, until the party was just soft background noise, and to a room hidden by a tapestry. "I know," the young man said, ushering his friend inside. "People just see what they want to."

The room wasn't really fancy, just a bed, dresser, and table really, but it was better than the one Colin had at the orphanage. Walking over to the dresser, he pulled out a crisp white dress shirt. As he started to remove his own faded yellow top, Damian made a noise.

"What is that?" His eyes were narrowed on a dark spot in the center of Colin's left ribcage. "Did you get into another fight?"

"'Ey," Colin said, pulling the rest of the shirt off, "jus' 'cos da Bat 'n' 'is boys 'ave da ni't off don' mean da rest'a us do."

Damian came closer pressing his fingers lightly against the bruise, "You should still be careful."

Colin smirked, then leaned forward and caught Damian's lips with his own. "Wor'ied 'bout me?"

"Always," the dark haired man told him, returning the kiss. Not only about the thugs that roamed the streets, but about _them_. Colin could get killed if anyone found out about the two of them. Damian knew he's father's power and wealth could save him, but his Colin would not be as lucky.

Colin wrapped his arms around Damian, a smirk playing at his lips. "You're adorable when you worry."

The boys stayed in the room a long while, and then eventually returned to the party. Damian caught eyes with Dick, who gave him a knowing look, as the headed down the stairs. Tonight, they would be safe. Tomorrow, Damian would need to talk with his brother.

**A/N I started this after watching a stage production of **_**A Christmas Carol**_** and thinking "Colin would look really good in a newspaper cap." And he does, right?**


	3. Midnight Magic

It should have been like every other New Year's Eve. But it wasn't. Sure, Colin had spent New Year's at Wayne Manor before. In fact, for the last three years he had even spent the night instead of going back to St. A's afterwards. Tonight was different, though, he could feel it in the air.

It was like magic, making every part of his body tingle. At first, Colin thought it was the wine Alfred pretended they weren't drinking, but every time his eyes locked with Damian's the feeling got stronger. At sixteen, Colin was old enough to know a few things about himself. Things he knew the Sisters and Fathers wouldn't approve of, but he couldn't change. Damian was one of those things.

He wasn't gay, he was pretty sure, or bisexual even. It was just Damian. His personality, his strength, the way his forehead wrinkled when he was trying to figure something out… Like why his best friend was staring at him. Colin tore his eyes away from the other boy and took a sip of his drink.

It was 11:55. Only five more minutes until the old year was gone forever. Of course, you could never get any of your days back. Colin knew that, it was just more noticeable on the one evening as you watched the seconds tick away. Father Daniel had once preached about making every moment in your life count and not missing opportunities.

The redhead was pretty sure this wasn't what he meant, but as the whole household started counting down Colin walked over to Damian. _Three… two… one!_ Bruce kissed Salina. Dick kissed Barbara. Tim and Stephanie.

And Colin kissed Damian.

**A/N I know it's short and there's not much meat, but I wanted to get this up before midnight my time. Happy 2015 everyone!**


	4. Parents and Planes

"Here," Damian said, adding another splash of vodka into Colin's glass, "you'll need it."

The redhead took a sip of the vodka-Coke mix, forcing it down his throat. Alcohol never sat right in his stomach, but it did help with some of the nerves. Though he didn't know what he was most nervous about: flying, or what awaited him at the end of the trip. He'd only been on a plane once before when he was really little, and it hadn't this nice. In fact, it had only been big enough to sit in (he'd won the ride for some reason he couldn't quite remember). Here there were a few tables, red velvet seats, a bar, and no other passengers. "Is she that bad?"

"You remember how I was when you first met me?" The dark hair man asked with a smirk. "That was after months of living with my father and Grayson."

Colin took another large gulp of the concoction. "Why does she want to meet me now? We've been friends for twelve years."

"And only publicly dating for two," Damian reminded him. "She requested to meet the man who could hold my heart for that long."

"If it's a _request_—"

"It's my mother's way of saying that if we don't come, she will kidnap you in the middle of the night." The other man took a swig from the vodka bottle. "Trust me, it's not as fun as it sounds."

It didn't sound very fun to Colin in the first place. Waking up, surrounded by the League of Shadows… he had a hard enough time seeing more than one of the Bats in costume at the same time. "So when she says she wants to meet me…?"

"Interrogation, most likely," Damian said in a clam voice that made Colin choke and spill some of his drink. Leaning forward, the man lick a drop of Coke off his boyfriend's chin. "I won't let anything happen to you. Understand, Mother?"

"I thought you'd gotten soft," an accented voice said as a tall brunette entered the privet room of the cockpit. She didn't look much older than Damian himself, but with the al Ghuls' that didn't mean a thing.

"Please," Damian pulled back to look at the woman, his face expressionless, "were you being that sloppy on my account?"

The woman's eyes moved over to Colin, sizing him up. From her expression she obviously wasn't impressed. "Really, darling, this is who you chose to help rule your empire?"

Damian rubbed his forehead with a sigh, "I'm not going to _have_ and empire, Mother. Ruling the world is so nine years old."

Colin got shakily to his feet and held out his hand, "Hi, I'm—"

"Colin Daniel Wilks," Talia cut him off, "code name Abuse. Twenty-two years old. Blood Type AB+. Orphaned at—"

"Enough, Mother," Damian said, getting up and standing by Colin. "We didn't take this trip just to humor you. What do you want to know?"

Talia narrowed her rich, brown eyes at Colin, "Do you love my son?"

"Yes," the redhead told her with out hesitation.

"How much?"

"Ma'am," Colin said softly, "I would die to save him."

"Luckily you'll never have to," Damian said taking his hand.

The woman watched the two men for a moment before nodding, like the answer was to her satisfaction. "Now," Talia said, turning back to Damian, "are you sure you won't reconsider taking over the world?"

**A/N I just really wanted to write that Coke scene ^^ Also, this is dedicated to Kira Sema and Mireilles3 for being my first Fav. and Follow! Thanks! =3**


	5. Understanding Love

Damian could sit still. He could be quiet. On some rare occasions he could even listen as people spoke. But not now, not today. Today he sat next to Collin in a church pew, their knees touching and electricity coursing though his body, as a sweaty old man spoke about the "sin" of being gay. Of being attracted to someone who happened to be the same sex as you. And how every one of them would burn in Hell. Damian scoffed at that one.

The olive skinned teen leaned over to his pale partner, his lips barely brushing the other boy's ear, "How can you sit there and listen to this shit?" Damian still wasn't sure how Collin had convinced him to go to _church_ in the first place, let alone sit though the singing and complaining about sick relatives, but this "sermon" was the last straw. He didn't like people, as a general rule, and all naïve hypocrites in the room helped prove why.

"How many people have you killed, Damian?" The redhead's hazel eyes drifted over to cold blue ones as the raven haired boy clenched his jaw. He knew it was a low blow, but it was the best way to make his boyfriend understand. "You can come back from that. _All _of it. Everything you've ever done can, will, and has been forgiven. Every sin. _Every_ sin. Some people," he glanced back at the pastor, "just can't understand love."

**A/N Yes, I'm Christian. Yes, I believe in love. I don't think being gay damns you to Hell more than lying does. And I don't think Collin does either.**


	6. High Heels and Brass Knuckles

The clicking sound Of Colleen's heels echoed through the empty room, the skirt of her cream colored dress twisting and swaying around her knees. It had been a gift, left for her at the foot of her bed when she had come out of the shower that morning. With an unsigned note to come here.

The restaurant was beautiful, with golden sheets of silk draped from the walls and glass—crystal?—chandeliers. It was a place Colleen could never afford to walk into, let alone eat at, if it wasn't for the girl waiting for her at the center table. Damia was decked out in a short black cocktail dress showing off her long silky legs. Her black hair was curled into loose waves, and a silver chain necklace was almost the only thing covering her chest. Colleen almost tripped over her heels when she saw the woman.

Recovering her cool, the redhead clutched her purse (only holding Abuse's brass knuckles and a cell phone Damia had insisted on buying her) and took a deep breath. She and Damia had gone on dates before. It wasn't a big deal—at least it never was to Damia. Colleen, however, was head over heels for the Girl Wonder and always craved any alone time she got.

As Colleen reached the table, she leaned down and gave Damia a kiss on the cheek. "Thanks for the dress."

The raven-haired woman looked away, a blush that contrasted with her brutish personality coloring her cheeks. "Whatever. I just thought it would look good on you."

Grinning slightly, Colleen slipped into the chair across from Damia. "You look good, too," she said, slipping her foot out of her heel and boldly running it up the other woman's calf.

"Someone's in a good mood," Damia commented with a sly grin.

"Gotham hasn't been attacked in 78 hours, and I'm having a secret dinner with Number One of _People's_ 'Most Gorgeous Bachelorettes.' I'd say I'm in a great mood." Colleen flashed a grin that faded as she saw the look in Damia's eyes. "What's wrong?"

Damia focused on a spot past the other girl's shoulder, her face impassive and eyes a stony blue. "We can't do this anymore."

"'This?'" Colleen asked, her heart squeezing tightly in her chest. It felt like a building had just collapsed on her lungs (a feeling Abuse had unfortunately felt a few times before), but the girl tried to keep her voice even. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means," Damia said slowly, still not making eye contact, "that I'm tired of sneaking around with you."

"Oh." The last bubble of hope Colleen held onto popped and it felt an awful lot like her heart breaking. She should have gotten used to it by now, should have learned not to get attached to people. Her parents, foster parents, even the nuns didn't want her anymore, why on earth would she think Damia did?

"Oh?" The brunette asked, like she expected a different reaction. Her eyes finally moved to the redhead, but Colleen was busy looking through her purse, her expression blank.

The redhead pulled out her cellphone before placing it on the table, getting up, and walking away. For once the Girl Wonder was too stunned to jump to action. She wanted the other girl's receding body for a moment before leaping to her feet and following her.

"Hold it," Damia called, "Where do you think you're going?"

Colleen felt the grip on her arm, but was too weak to pull away. Right now she felt like she could collapse at any second. "Can we—" her voice broke, so she cleared her throat and tried again, "Can we please talk about this later? I just… I need a minute, okay?"

"A minuet for what? I just told you—"

"I heard what you said," Colleen cut her off. "I get it. I really do. If we were caught… Damia Wayne couldn't afford that kind of scandal."

Dark eyebrows scrunched in confusion. "What are you talking about? You think that I care abou…" The girl trailed off, running over the conversation again in her mind, suddenly her eyes widened, "Oh, god! Did you think I was breaking up with you? Are you an idiot?"

Colleen blinked, slowly turning back to Damia, "You aren't?"

"No!" And then the girl started laughing, "I'm not stupid. I wouldn't throw… whatever we have away." She laced her fingers through Colleen's, "I just want to be us. Together. In public. I have to hide half of my life, I don't want to hide the rest of it."

Wiping away her tears with her free hand, Colleen nodded with a smile. "Okay," she whispered, leaning in and kissing Damia. As their lips met, the ground shook. Screams sounded all around them. The two pulled apart, shared a look, and ran off into the danger of the unknown.

**Because Damia is no better at telling Colleen that she loves her then Damian is at telling Colin he loves him.**


	7. Protection

_**A/N Dedicated to Ronin0203 who requested it. Sorry it took so long!**_

"Get your ass up you miserable waste of space!"

The words cut through Colin's sleep like one of Damian's knives. He had been having a good dream, too. It had to do with the Boy Wonder and a jar of chocolate. The kind of dream he would have been embarrassed about having just a year ago. At seventeen, though, it was herd to be embarrassed at anything anymore.

"Colin, if you don't get your lazy ass down her this instant…"

She didn't finish the sentence, she never did. It gave her more time to think about what she would do to him. Nothing physical, of course. If that had been it, he could've arrested her a long time ago. No, what she did was much worse and never left a physical scar.

Quickly pulling a shirt over his head (he had fallen asleep in his baggy jeans after sneaking back into his room mere hours before), Colin dashed downstairs. He didn't have time to shower or brush his teeth before starting on chores, so he popped a piece of gum into his mouth to get rid of the stale taste of sleep.

It was only six in the morning, his first class at the Academy didn't start until nine, but Fran was convinced he wouldn't be able to get all his morning chores done unless he worked from six to eight-thirty. He would have half an hour to pack his things and get to school in time. Luckily, he had gym as the first class of the day and could shower then.

"Where are you, you stupid, ignorant boy?"

Colin rounded the corner, his arms full of dirty laundry he had collected from outside the rooms. Fran had three biological kids who had quickly caught onto the game of "work the orphan to death." In the mornings, he would do laundry, clean the kitchen and living room, and do any outside work that was needed (and for a house with a two foot yard, there was a surprising about of work needed). After he got home from school, he would clean each bedroom, re-clean the living room, and scrub the bathrooms. Then he had a chance to sneak off to see Damian and would spend the night cleaning up the streets, come home and crash for three hours, and wake up to do it all over again.

In the month and a half that Fran had been fostering him, he had gotten rather used to it and her cutting remarks. He knew she would never adopt him. Why pay for the labor, when the government could play out for it? "I'm here Miss Fran," he told her, picking up a discarded shirt from the back of the couch.

Fran sat in her chair, her robe open down to her waist and a glass of something amber in her hand. It was never too early for her to drink. "Are you sassing me, boy? And what did I tell you about getting a hair cut? You look like a bum."

"Sorry, Miss Fran," he muttered, "I'll get it done today." It was a lie. They'd been having the same exchange for three days, he never cut his hair. Damian once told him it was cute when it curled around his ears. Not in those exact words of course, but in his own "Damian" kind of way.

After the chores were done to Fran's satisfaction, Colin pulled his jacket on, shouldered his book bag, and jogged off to Gotham Academy. He was there on a scholarship, of course. He knew they were never really kick him out, but he worked hard for his grades, anyway. Graduating from Gotham Academy with As and Bs would be a great advantage in the future, scholarship or no.

The warning bell was just ringing as Colin stepped through the front gate. Damian was leaning against the wall, his arms crossed. "You are late," he said as a greeting. "And out of uniform. Again."

"I'll change after gym," the redhead told him, shuffling off down the hall. There was an entire wing dedicated to sports, including archery, track, and gymnastics, but Colin just took the regular class. At first, he had been disappointed at missing out on a chance to train for his "extracurricular activities," but now he was thankful for it. It helped conserve what little energy he had throughout the day.

"… and then the pineapple started doing the tango with a—"

"What?" Colin turned to Damian, who was still walking beside him.

The Arabian raised a perfect eyebrow with a smirk. "I have been talking to you for the past three hundred and twenty-seven seconds," they had reached the changing rooms, "yet you have not responded to a single thing I have said. Is everything all right?"

"Sorry," Colin rubbed his eyes with the balls of his hands and sighed, "just lost in thought, I guess. What were you saying?"

Damian just stood there for a moment, watching him, before he started to remove his uniform. "I said, Grayson has invited you over for dinner tonight before we hang out. He wanted to know if there was anything food you desire."

"Anything sounds good," he commented, stripping his shirt and jeans off. Outside of school lunches, Colin couldn't remember the last time he ate something that wasn't instant noodles. Suddenly, a wave of lightheadedness hit him, and the boy plunked down on one of the benches heavily. Damian was in front of him in an instant.

"Are you—"

"I'm fine," he growled, trying to focus on the venom in his blood to give him energy. Usually that worked, but this time…

"Get some pants on," the Wayne boy demanded. "I will be taking you to the infirmary."

Colin wanted to repeat, again, that he was fine, but he had just enough energy to pull his uniform from his bag and slip his pants and shirt on. Damian yanked him to his feet, half dragging, half carrying him out of the room.

Colin woke to the sound of voices. One of them sounded familiar, and very angry. Though the fog in his brain, he couldn't truly recognize it, but he knew that angry voices when he woke meant he would be in trouble if he didn't respond.

"I'm sorry," he called weakly, trying to get out of bed. He proceeded to fall face first onto the floor. "I'll get to the chores… I promise…" He tried pushing himself up, but his arms buckled under him and he hit the floor again.

"What do you think you are doing?" The angry voice bas back.

"I'm sorry," he said again, "I'll be right there."

"Colin, you are not going anywhere." Two strong hands grabbed him and pulled him back into the bed. "You have a high fever. You need to rest."

"No, I need…"

"What do you need?" This voice was calmer. Again, familiar, but he still couldn't place it.

"I need to do the laundry," he croaked, "Fran will be mad if I don't."

"You already did the laundry," the voice told him. "What next?"

"C-clean the… kitchen and… living…room…" the fog in his head was getting thicker.

"Done. What next?"

"The yard—"

"Is done."

"School—"

"Is over."

"Clean the bedrooms and bathrooms."

"Done and done," the voice was starting to fade more, he barely heard the last question. "Then what?"

"Damian," he whispered, "I get to see Damian."

Damian had to keep his jaw clenched as his best friend rattled through his day. All that work on only a few hours of sleep. Sure, Damian could have done it. He had been, after all, raised by an elite force trained to get the job done, no matter what. Colin was just a boy.

Dick slowly moved away from Colin's sleeping body and turned to Damian. "I thought he had been adopted?"

"Fostered. Francine Gimble. 3914 Prospect Lane. She has three kids, I thought…" Damian wanted to hit something. "Why did he not tell me?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Dick shook his head, with a small smile. "He didn't want you to worry about him."

"Worry about him?" The boy growled, "Colin is fighting a serious fever and he doesn't want me to worry? He is my best friend. It is my job to care for him."

"And he thought that he was doing _his_ job as a best friend by keeping it from you." Dick put a hand on Damian's shoulder. "It's not your fault, Little D."

Damian's shoulder's slumped and he looked more like a child than he ever had. "I should have protected him."

"You can protect him now," Dick told him. "Why don't we bring Commissioner Gordon and go have a chat with Francine?"

Damian shook his head, "I will stay here. It would be dangerous for me to come."

Dick nodded and turned to leave the room. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Damian take Colin's hand. With Damian there, he knew, Colin would be fine.


	8. The Best Day Ever!

Colin loved Christmas. In his opinion, it was the best day of the year. Better than his birthday, or Halloween, or even Damian's birthday (which was better than his, because there was actually cake involved).

Damian looked at him like he was crazy when he said this. Of course, Damian often looked at him like he was crazy, so Colin was used to it. "Why? It's just like every other day. It obviously can't be about the presents, you hardly get anything."

"It's not about the presents," Colin explained. "It's about _the_ Present. Ya know, God's Present to _us_."

Damian just watched him for a moment. He'd seen his friend get this way several times. Usually it was just Sundays, sometimes on a random day of the week, he could always count on it at Christmas and Easter. Right. "You mean _Yeshua_?"

Colin laughed, "That's His Hebrew name, yeah. Jesus—God's gift to all humanity."

"Mother had me study him along with other religious leaders," Damian told him. "I never saw what the big deal was."

Colin walked over to his bookshelf, "You've read the Bible?"

"Of course," Damian huffed.

"Did you understand it?"

The boy wonder paused. "What?"

"The Bible," Colin pulled a book off one of the top shelves, "did you understand it."

Damian crossed his arms and sat on Colin's bed. "Not… all of it."

Colin walked over and sat next to Damian, cuddling against him. "Did you read the Christmas story?"

"Christmas story?" The boy looked skeptical as Colin flipped open to a folded page. Passages had been highlighted and notes hand been written in the margins with different colored ink. "You wrote in your bible? Isn't that sacrilegious or something?"

"Of course not," Colin laughed. "The Bible is a Guide Book. It's meant to be used, written in, slept with, and on some occasions thrown across the room." Damian raised an eyebrow at Colin's grin. "If you don't throw it at least once, you're reading it wrong."

"I'll take your word for it. You are, in this subject at least, the expert."

"Don't worry," Colin bit back a grin, "I'll make you one too. Now, the Christmas story is in Luke. It starts with Mary… _'__In the sixth month of Elizabeth's pregnancy,_' Elizabeth is Mary's cousin," Colin explained. "She's pregnant with John the Baptist, which is a merical because of how old she is. But that's another story. _'God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee,__to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David.' _David was an old king and one of God's greatest followers. You'd probably like him, Damian. I'll tell you about him next."

"Fine," Damian grumbled, "but finish this first. What was with the virgin?"

"Right! So, _'The virgin's name was Mary.__The angel went to her and said, "Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you."_

_Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be.'_"

"Obviously it's how 'angels' greet people."

"Shh! _'__But the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God.__You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus.__He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David—'_"

"I though David was dead."

"Not that kind of father, like great-great-grandfather."

"Right…"

"' –_and he will reign over Jacob's descendants forever; his kingdom will never end."_

"_How will this be," Mary asked the angel, "since I am a virgin?"_'"

"You do a stupid girl voice, Colin."

"Shut up and listen. _'__The angel answered, "The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.__'_"

"I though David was his father." Colin knew Damian was just saying it to be difficult. Well, two could play at that.

"Yes. On his mother's side_. __'Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month.__For no word from God will ever fail."_

"_I am the Lord's servant," Mary answered. "May your word to me be fulfilled." Then the angel left her.'_"

"Then what happened?"

"What?"

"Come on, Colin," Damian rolled his eyes. "What happened after she became pregnant? She wasn't married, her husband wouldn't claim the baby—"

"But he did."

Damian looked at him with a frown. "What? Why?"

"Because, God told him to. Let's see… We have to go back to Matthew… ah! Here. _'This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together—'"_

"You mean had sex."

"Yes, Damian. _'—but before they_ "had sex" _she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit.__—'_"

"You just told me all that, in detail. But what happens next?"

"Alright, alright. I'm getting there. '_Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly._

'_But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph son of David,'_—I swear, Damian if you interrupt me… Good. '_—do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.__She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins."'_"

"_Save _people from their sins? By getting them to stop sinning? That's not going to work."

"Of course not. God knew that. That's why… John! Now, this is Jesus talking here: _'__I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things?__No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven—the Son of Man."'_ He's talking about Himself. _'"Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up,__that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him."'_ That's the crucifixion. Jesus was crucified so that we are all saved. _'For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.'_ That word, 'love' is what makes Christianity different from every other religion. We are the only ones who has a god who loves us_.__ '__For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.__Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God's one and only Son'_ I think you'll probably understand this part the best. _"This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.__Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed.__But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.'_"

Damian sat there and thought about that for a moment, nodding slowly. "So… all you have to do is believe Jesus is who He says He is, and… what? You're free from sin? That seems too easy."

"It's not," Colin admitted. "It's simple, but not easy. See, lets go back to Matt…"

"You have to do a lot of flipping to read this thing 'right.'"

"Tell me about it… '_Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees,'_ He had been answering a lot of questions at this point, _'the Pharisees got together.__One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question:__"Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?"_

'_Jesus replied: __"'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.'__This is the first and greatest commandment.__And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'__All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."' _You see, every day Christians struggle to love God and everyone else with everything they have, usually they fail. But because of Jesus and His sacrifice, we can go to God and repent. Apologize for our failing. And when we really mean it, we are automatically forgiven. Not so we can go out and do it again, but so that we can work on not doing it. And, sure, we'll fail, but we aren't perfect. God doesn't expect us to be."

"I think I understand."

Colin watched him for a moment, before closing his Bible up. "I pray for you, you know."

"You do? Why?"

Damian looked so puzzled, that Colin had to lean in and kiss him. "Because, idiot, you're my best friend, and my boyfriend, and everyone needs someone to pray for them. Especially when they don't pray for themselves."

"What would I pray about?"

Colin took his hand, "Are you sorry you killed those people. I mean, every life you took growing up and since then. Are you truly sorry?"

Damian leaned closer, "You know I am Colin. I've told you that."

"Yeah, but you've never told _Him_ that. Praying… it's a lot like just talking to God. You don't have to get on you knees, or fold your hands, or close your eyes. Those are just things people do. Really, praying is just talking, having a _conversation_."

"Does He talk back?"

"Sometimes. And some times He answers in different ways. Do you want to try it?"

After a moment, Damian nodded, and closed his eyes. "Uh, hey… God. Happy Birthday, I guess. This is Damian. Wayne, that is. I probably have a reputation up there. I just, I wanted to say… I'm sorry for my sins. There are too many to count. So many I might have forgotten some. I'm really sorry, God. I promise to work at it. If you forgive me. And, uh, if you could tell Martha and Thomas that Bruce and I say hi, I'd really appreciate that. Um, thanks. …Bye." Slowly, the boy opened his blue eye to meet Colin's hazel ones.

"I'm proud of you," Colin told him, kissing his knuckles.

Damian grinned a little. "So this is why it's your favorite day? This feeling you get in your chest?"

"Damian, I get that feeling every time I talk to the Lord. I love Christmas, because it's a world wide reminder of everything He's ever done for us. That's what makes it the best day ever!"

Damian grinned and kissed his boyfriend. "What do you think God thinks about the two of us?"

Colin laughed, flipping his Bible back open, "Let me read to you about Jesus and the prostitutes..."


End file.
